A new geographic and host record for Argulus flavescens Wilson, 1916 (Crustacea, Arguloida), from southeastern Mexico

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Within a period of everal week from June to mid-October 1996, more than 50 000 catfish (Arius assimilis (Gunther, 1864» between 10-35 cm in total length died from an undetermined cause in Chetumal Bay, southern portion of the MexiCaJJCaribbean coast. Thousands of fishes washed up along the beaches of the innermost portions of the bay, but mainly along the urban area of Chetumal city. Arills assimilis (Ariidae: Mayan ea catfi h) i a species commonly found at the easternmost portions of the Caribbean Sea, from Yucatan to Honduras. It is abundant in embayments and low- alinity coa tal waters over muddy bottoms and in river estuaries (Fischer, 1977). Although thi pecies is not commercially important in the Yucatan area, it is frequently fished and consumed locally. It was the only fish species affected by the recent mass mortality in Chetumal. No mortality was recorded for invertebrates in the area. As part of a general multidisciplinary survey to investigate the main cause of the local catfish mas m rtality, hundreds of pecimens of A. assimilis were collected by everal local institutions for analysis. From this material, a number of ectoparasites be Longing to the crustacean class Branchiura were collected from the body surface of several fihes and sent to us for identification. The class Branchiura irepreented by only one order (Argulidea) with two families (Argulidae and Dipteropeltidae), and represents a widely distributed group of crustacean parasites. They paraitize freshwater and marine fishes and are found mainJy on the body surface, in the gill chamber, and in the mouth of the host (Cressey, 1978). Although not a primary cause of death for most parasitized fish, some species have been reported as the only cause of mass mortality (Kolipinsky, 1969) spa